To Everything There is a Season
by Luthien Luinwe
Summary: Heartbroken and tired of being the Hero, Link returns to Ordon. However, things will never be the same for him or the villagers. Tragedy strikes, and soon many are mourning the loss of a good friend. Oneshot


**So... this was my "cure writer's block" story. It's based on "You Found Me" by the Fray. I don't own that song, nor do I own Legend of Zelda... yet... (ha, in my wildest dreams...)**

"Link, I… see you later," she had said. It was amazing how that one sentence kept running through his head. He couldn't go one minute without those words finding their way into his mind. She said she'd see him later. He wasn't an idiot. He knew he'd never see her again.

The only way to get to the other realm was cut off forever. She had been the cause of that. The memory of the mirror shattering ran through his head time and time again. Not a day went by in which he didn't see her face, hear her voice, and finally, feel his heart break all over again.

He had completely… broken after she left. He seemed capable of nothing but standing there, staring into what was once a portal between the Twilight Realm and Hyrule. He said nothing, heard nothing, felt nothing. It was as though he were made of stone.

Some time later, he had returned to Ordon. He tried to remain a simple ranch hand. It was obvious, however, that he wasn't the same. He would do nothing but eat, sleep (occasionally), and heard goats. Fado had tried to talk to him. He tried to get the boy to say what was wrong. He really did try to help.

Ilia, his best friend since childhood, did what she could. She sat with him, saying nothing when she knew he didn't wish to talk. For a long time, she was the only one that knew who he was, who he was not, and who he wanted to be. That all changed when the Twili girl came into the picture. She grew to know the boy better than anyone had. The Twili girl could relate to him. She was the only one who knew what the dungeons were like, how killing Zant and Ganondorf had left the boy with a queasy feeling. She was the only one who was with him through his entire journey.

All of the adults had tried to help him. Rusl and Uli tried to keep their roles as his surrogate parents and tried, though in vain, to talk to and comfort him. Jaggle and Purli, the ones he'd come to love like an aunt and uncle, kept him company when they could. Sera and Hanch would bring him some new things occasionally. They brought him anything they thought would take his mind off of things, if only for a short time. Bo simply sat with the boy as an equal. Fado treated him as he always had, as a best friend.

The children tried to get him to play. Malo and Talo attempted to get him to teach them how to use the various items he'd acquired on his test. Beth, who had had a crush on him for quite some time (at least until Colin saved her), would talk with him on occasion. Colin, who had always viewed Link as an older brother, would walk with him.

One fateful day, the Hero walked into the main segment of the village. He went to the Mayor's house to speak with Ilia. It was the first time he had been seen in the village itself for anything other than business in weeks. He knocked on the door, and Bo let him in. As it turned out, Ilia wasn't home. He asked Bo to tell her he'd come by, and to visit him as soon as she got the chance. Ilia never came. She had gone to Kakariko and would be gone for quite some time.

One day, the Hero finally could have no more. Somberly, he made his way to Ordona's spring. It was the place his journey as the Hero of Twilight began, and he thought it seemed fit that that was where it would end. He sat in the water, remembering his talk with Rusl. Though it was only a few months ago that it had happened, Link felt like it was in an entirely different lifetime.

Was it really only a few months before that he was a simple ranch hand? Was it really such a short time ago that his biggest concern was learning how the village worked so that he could take over as mayor some day? Was it only a few months ago that he was convinced he was never leaving Ordon?

He watched as the sun began its descent from the sky. He sat there until the earth was covered in an amber-like shade. Every time the time of twilight came about, his heart wrenched. Every time twilight came about, he thought of _her_ and how he could never be with her again.

Link pulled out a small weapon from his bag. He got out of the water knowing that the Spirit Water would heal any wounds. He took the weapon to his heart, and moved no more.

Ilia had returned the next day. She decided to visit the spring, as she was rather fond of the place. The metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils. She saw the body and nearly fainted. She ran to get the older villagers. They all mourned the fallen Hero, but they all knew that the boy who died was not the Link they knew. The Link they knew died when he became the Hero. The Hero died when his journey was over. This… this body… was simply a shell.

Lost and insecure, they'd found him lying on the floor, surrounded by the lot of them.

**Review, please? Thanks!**


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